Judicial Elections in Texas

Texas uses a system of judicial elections to select judges, including those of its appellate courts, district courts, and county courts at law.

This differs from the federal system, in which the president appoints federal judges, subject to confirmation by the senate.

Other states select judges based on appointments by the governor or legislature. Governors in about 20 states rely on a nominating commission that sends a shortlist to the governor for consideration, restricting him to select a candidate from that list. 

By contrast, the Texas governor can only appoint judges to fill vacancies.

The Texas system treats judicial elections little differently from elections for legislative and executive positions. 

One noteworthy exception, however, are municipal court judges. They are almost always appointed by the city council in the city in which they serve, though in a handful of cities they are elected, depending on the city charter.

Term of Office

Appellate court judges in Texas serve six-year terms while trial court judges serve four-year terms. 

In other words, justices of the Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and Courts of Appeals are elected to a six-year term, while District Court judges, County Court judges, and Justice of the Peace are elected to a four-year-term.

This means that three places on the Supreme Court and three places on the Court of Criminal Appeals are up for election every two years. The number of seats on the Courts of Appeals on the ballot varies by year.

Primary Judicial Elections

Texas is one of about eight states where judges run as partisan candidates, which means that judicial candidates are listed on ballots as either Republicans, Democrats, or some other party.

Judicial candidates therefore must compete in primary elections for a place on the general election ballot.

Campaign Finance in Judicial Elections

Candidates for judicial offices in Texas must adhere to the state’s campaign finance laws. 

Candidates for statewide judicial office may not accept a political contribution exceeding more than $5,000, while candidates for judge of a district court and courts of appeals may not accept contirbutions larger than $2,500.

The donation limit for candidates for statutory county courts depends on the population of the county. 

The Texas Ethics Commission has published a guide for judicial candidates that offers more detailed informational bout judicial campaign finance in Texas. 

Judicial Selection Reform

Texas’ system of financing judicial elections has come under criticism for decades, including a groundbreaking 60 Minutes investigation in 1987, “Justice for Sale?” and a PBS Frontline investigation in 1999 by the same name. 

Such criticisms prompted some reforms, including the 1995 Judicial Fairness Act, which limited contributions to judicial candidates and limited the time frame during which they could accept political contributions.

Other critics have focused on the partisan nature of Texas’s judicial elections, highlighting races in which unqualified candidates won office on the basis of partisan affiliation.

Leading Texas judges have called for judicial selection reform, including Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, who advocated a hybrid system of merit selection and retention elections. The Texas Legislature, however, has failed to act on these recommendations.

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